Publishers face an unprecedented array of choices and pressures as they look for their investments in digital businesses to translate into meaningful profits. In the midst of continuing change in the sector, the most successful leaders will apply new thinking to both the pursuit of revenue and cost management. “2011 and Beyond” will discuss five key methods of aligning product and revenue strategies against the backdrop of ever-increasing pressure to manage expenses. Geoff Reiss, Digital Media Thought Leader

1. Digital
Media:
What’s
coming
and
what
to
do
about
it
Geoff
Reiss
Berlin
3
November
2010

2. Market
AssumpEons
l AdverEsing
revenue
is
poised
to
grow
dramaEcally.
Piper
Jaffrey
has
spending
growing
from
$8B
in
2009
to
nearly
$15B
in
2014
l Available
inventory
will
sEll
grow
at
a
faster
rate
than
new
dollars
enter
the
market
place
as
the
full
effect
of
social
media
plaPorms
are
felt.
l The
definiEon
of
what
consEtutes
mass
is
going
way
up.

3. Market
AssumpEons
l The
buying
process
will
change
radically.
l Buys
will
be
increasingly
shiS
from
being
subjecEve
to
objecEve
and
will
target
key
audience
and
behavioral
characterisEcs
and
not
purely
on
the
basis
of
site
virtues.
l The
inventory
mix
will
change
–
straight
display
will
lose
a
third
of
its
share
while
video
may
triple
in
the
next
5
years
l Big
split
in
CPM’s
coming

4. Publisher
AssumpEons
l Expense
and
investment
faEgue
is
seYng
in
l Rapid
emergence
of
mulEple
plaPorms
is
scary
l Publishers
are
sEll
oriented
to
quanEtaEve
goals
that
may
no
longer
be
as
relevant
as
they
once
were

5. What’s
a
Publisher
to
do?
l Declare
what
arena
you’re
playing
in
l There
will
be
two
predominant
approaches
available
to
publishers:
l
The
numbers
game
l PosiEon
as
a
premium
verEcal
brand

6. Publisher
Strategies
l The
numbers
game
works
one
of
two
ways
l Go
mass
l Go
cheap
The
most
disrupEve
brands
do
both

7. Mass
strategies
l The
emergence
of
Twi]er
and
FaceBook
will
raise
the
bar
as
to
what
levels
of
traffic
consEtute
real
mass
leaving
<10
players
who
can
play
the
mass
game
l Cheap
content/traffic
producEon
offers
some
refuge
but
is
difficult
to
scale
for
all
but
a
few
players.

8. Publisher
Strategies
l The
Premium/VerEcal
path
l Two
approaches
l Ad
driven
l Consumer
driven
l There
are
some
qualifiers
l Need
a
leadership
posiEon
in
a
well
defined
category.
l Need
to
be
either
essenEal
or
loved
–
or
both

9. Achieving
Premium
Status
l Established
paths
thus
far
include
plaPorm
diversificaEon
and
premium
Eers
l On
the
sales
side
premium
relaEonships
can
be
achieved
by
l DemonstraEng
superlaEve
demos
l Offering
adverEsers
highly
differenEated
products
l Offering
deep
levels
of
integraEon
that
go
beyond
pure
display
and
include
relaEonship
markeEng

10. What’s
a
publisher
to
do?
l Most
of
all
publishers
need
to
think
very
differently
l Become
audience
and
outcome
driven
l New
core
competencies
must
be
developed
l Build
and
re-­‐invest
in
taxonomy
l Build
pages
users
want
l IdenEfy
means
of
creaEng
differenEaEon
and
value

11. AnalyEcs
–
the
Key
to
Understanding
Value
l You
can’t
create
value
if
you
don’t
understand
how
it’s
created
l Integrate
analyEcs
into
daily
workflows
and
publishing
scheme

12. Build
a
Great
Technical
PlaPorm
l A]ack
costs
l Impact
on
hosEng
l Impact
on
cost
of
iteraEons
l Ability
to
make
traffic
contribuEon
l Connect
users
with
content

13. Where
does
this
leave
us?
l Changes
in
the
ad
market
will
leave
many
publishers
in
an
untenable
“middle
posiEon”
forces
publishers
to
be
customer
driven
l Increased
pressure
on
expense
management
l Publishers
must
become
customer
driven
in
response
l ConEnued
opportunity
for
brands
who
are
category
leaders